Monday’s Mini-Report, 6.23.14

* Crisis in Iraq: “Winding up a day of crisis talks with Iraqi leaders, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that the Sunni militants seizing territory in Iraq had become such a threat that the United States might not wait for Iraqi politicians to form a new government before taking military action.”

* Related news: “Al-Qaeda renegades seized control of Iraq’s main border crossing with Jordan late Sunday, sustaining their onslaught against crumbling Iraqi security forces as Secretary of State John F. Kerry arrived in Baghdad.”

* EPA seems confident about the limited reach of the ruling: “The Supreme Court struck a blow against the Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Monday, ruling 5-4 against an agency plan to require permits for sources of greenhouse gas emissions…. The decision still leaves the EPA with other palatable options for reducing air pollution.”

* VA: “In a blistering letter sent to President Obama on Monday, the head of the agency that investigates whistle-blower complaints in the federal government criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs for not digging deeper into widespread allegations made by its own employees of poor or severely delayed patient care for veterans.”

* Egypt: “A judge on Monday convicted three journalists of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood to broadcast false reports of civil strife in Egypt.”

* Long-awaited memo: “The U.S. government is justified in taking lethal force against American citizens abroad if it determines that the Americans in question have joined an enemy force, a secret Justice Department memo made public Monday argues.” Here’s a version of the memo itself.

* Climate crisis: “NOAA reports today that May was the globe’s warmest in 134 years of records, besting the previous high mark established in 2010. Last week, NASA and the Japan Meteorological Agency – in independent analyses – also released data indicating it was our home planet’s toastiest May on record.”

* An outrage in Japan: “Sexist jeers recently erupted as a Tokyo assemblywoman delivered a speech discussing how to better support child-rearing women in Japan…. The assemblywoman, Ayaka Shiomura, was questioning officials about their plans to help working mothers when cries of ‘Why don’t you get married?’ and ‘Are you not able to have a baby?’ could be heard from seats held by members of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).”

* Marriage equality is the law in 19 states. As for the other 31, msnbc published a beautiful piece taking a closer look at some of the plaintiffs who are challenging the remaining bans on same-sex marriage.

* Bergdahl: “Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has been shifted to outpatient status less than a month after his release from captivity in Afghanistan.”